Go Retro or Go Home: A Content Lesson From General Mills

By Tree Treacy | Yahoo Small Business

I wrote a post over the summer about breakfast cereal mascots both at home and abroad. Apparently I can’t leave these charming characters alone, because now I’m going to talk a little bit about General Mills’ vintage cereal boxes. These have been on the shelves of supermarkets around the country now for a few years. These ads take the cereal characters that kids today know and love and retro-ize them into something that their parents remember.

Why the Retro Designs Work

Adweek puts it well: the characters we know and love from our childhoods are reassuring as footie pajamas. Sugary breakfast cereals haven’t changed much – they’re as comforting and sugary as ever. So what, exactly, makes the General Mills vintage cereal box designs so appealing?

The answer is simple: the nostalgia factor. The current General Mills cereal box designs date back to the 1940s up to the 1970s.The designer of the General Mills vintage boxes knows that they are definitely appealing to collectors, but they’re also a big hit with adults who are scouring the cereal aisles for their weekday breakfasts.

The Takeaway for Content Creators

Ultimately, the reason that the vintage cereal boxes are so charming and have gained such a following translates pretty easily. It’s all about going back to your roots. Don’t forget the fans who have been with you from the very beginning, and do something special once in awhile that acknowledges them.

You may find that appealing to the older audience can even bring some new customers. I for one was so charmed by the vintage mascots that I picked up some retro-boxed Lucky Charms at the store last week – and I’m definitely not in the demographic that recognizes the vintage characters. It just goes to show that returning to your roots as a company can really pay off, and your buyers will enjoy the sweet, sugary, crunchy trip down memory lane.